Kohala Lighthouse Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty, and I gotta be straight with you – this one's a tough pill to swallow. Looking at the whole 16-day window for Kohala Lighthouse, it's a real bummer. There’s no good surf on the horizon, not a single day where the stars align. The setup is a classic case of the tradewinds ruining the party.

The trouble starts Friday, August 7th, and it just doesn't let up. We’ve got a moderate amount of swell energy building, but it’s coming from the ENE. The problem is that the wind is whipping from the same direction, at 19 mph, straight cross-shore. That’s a recipe for lumpy, choppy, messy conditions right from the get-go. The swell is a short, weak 4 ft with a period of only 4 seconds and combined energy of just 65 – that’s barely a ripple, and it's a messy one.

The swell does build through the first week, hitting 7 ft to 7 ft by the weekend of the 15th and 16th, with the combined energy climbing into the moderate range (over 600). But the wind just gets stronger, with gusts up to 25 mph, creating a strong cross-shore chop. It's the kind of energy that would be exciting if the wind would just cooperate, but it won't. The period stays short, around 8 seconds, so it's all wind-swell, not any real groundswell.

After that, the swell tapers off into the second week, but the wind never lets up, just shifting to a cross-onshore direction. The water temp is about average for the time of year, but you won't be in the water long enough to notice.

Basically, for the entire 16-day run, from August 7th right through to August 22nd, every single session is rated as poor. The reef is exposed, but the wind is constantly trashing it. For a spot like this, with that persistent cross-shore wind, it's honestly more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. There's just no clean face to be found.

I hate to say it, but there's nothing to recommend. Sometimes the forecast is just a long, blank stretch. This is one of those times. Keep the board in the car, but maybe don't take it out of the bag. We'll see what the next model run brings.

Rusty.

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